Homily for the 3rd Sunday of Advent
Readings: Zephaniah 3:14-18; Isaiah 12:2-6; Philippians 4:4-7; Luke 3:10-18
15 December 2024
The reopening of Notre Dame Cathedral last weekend was a grand affair. There were many trappings of church and state. Not all went according to plan. The weather was foul. President Macron, fighting for his political life, joined his wife welcoming the good and the great as they arrived in the driving rain in their motorcades, each one grander and more secure than the previous one. It was a little jarring to see Donald Trump and Elon Musk so centre stage. If US President Biden couldn’t come, why didn’t his Vice President step in for him? President Biden’s wife and daughter did well to share the occasion with Donald Trump, separated only by Madame Macron. Presumably money spoke even more loudly than power and formal position on this night. As the ceremony commenced, I was still a little uneasy at there being a place of honour for all manner of people, including Donald Trump and Elon Musk. And there were still many empty seats.
Listen on Soundcloud.
Once the invited dignitaries (whatever their status, reason or explanation for being there) had taken their seats, the firefighters, craftsmen and representatives of the 250 companies and sponsors involved in the restoration then processed down the nave of the cathedral to prolonged applause. They rightfully filled those empty seats. The simple message ‘Merci – thanks’ was projected on the front of the cathedral. President Macron told the congregation: ‘This cathedral was thus a happy metaphor for what a nation is, and what the world should be. The fraternity of a people determined to make great choices; universal fraternity and mutual aid. Notre-Dame tells us that our dreams, even the most audacious, are only possible through the will of each individual, and the commitment of all. Our cathedral reminds us that we are the heirs of a past that is greater than ourselves, and that can disappear every day. We are also the protagonists of an era that we have a duty to pass on. Our cathedral tells us how much meaning and transcendence help us to live in this world. To pass on, and to hope. Such is the meaning of this work, and of our presence here this evening. We, in turn, are part of this procession of builders, revealing ourselves in the face of adversity.’[1]
President Macron expressed ‘gratitude to all those who saved, helped and rebuilt Notre Dame de Paris. Gratitude to all those present, as we prepare to return it to Catholics, to Paris, France and the world’. President Macron then took his seat and the carriage of the proceedings fell to Archbishop Laurent Ulrich of Paris who struck the door of the cathedral three times with his crozier declaring: ‘Notre Dame, model of faith, open your doors to gather in joy the scattered children of God.’ The crozier had been made from a beam of the cathedral that had escaped the fire. The choir responded each time on behalf of the cathedral singing: ‘I rejoiced when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the Lord.” And now our feet are standing within your gates, Jerusalem. Jerusalem, built as a city, walled round about.’[2]
With everyone from Elon Musk to the poorest firefighter in place, Pope Francis had struck the right note with his message:[3]
‘I salute all those, especially the firefighters, who worked so courageously to save this historic monument from wreckage. I salute the determined commitment of the public authorities and the great outpouring of international generosity that contributed to the restoration. This momentum is a sign not only of our attachment to art and history, but also – and how encouraging this is! – the sign that the symbolic and sacred value of such an edifice is still widely perceived, from the smallest to the largest.
‘I would also like to pay tribute to the remarkable work carried out by the many craftsmen and women involved, who generously gave their all to restore Notre-Dame to its former splendour. It’s beautiful and reassuring that the skills of yesteryear have been wisely preserved and improved. But it is even more beautiful that so many of the workers and craftsmen involved in this restoration adventure have experienced it as an authentic spiritual journey. They followed in the footsteps of their forefathers, whose faith alone, lived in their work, could have built such a masterpiece, where nothing profane, unintelligible or vulgar belongs.’
This Advent as we prepare for the coming of the Christ child, we pray that our Church can be welcoming to all, assuring all who choose to enter that nothing profane, unintelligible or vulgar belongs here and that the meaning and transcendence we need to live in this world, transforming it into the signs of the kingdom to come, can be found here.
In today’s second reading, Paul tells the Philippians that he wants us to be happy: ‘Let your tolerance be evident to everyone: the Lord is very near. There is no need to worry; but if there is anything you need, pray for it, asking God for it with prayer and thanksgiving, and that peace of God, which is so much greater than we can understand, will guard your hearts and your thoughts, in Christ Jesus.’
As the motorcades departed after the grand ringing of the bells and the resounding playing of the organ, and as President Macron, Donald Trump and Elon Musk returned to their transactional forums, I thought that the celebration of this human achievement in honour of Mary was a joyful moment of Advent hope – even for President Zelenskyy who appeared in his usual khaki battle fatigues. May that moment sustain us, and may the beauty and grandeur of the restored cathedral bring consolation to all who enter that now-open door feeling overburdened and suspicious that the profane, unintelligible and vulgar might even reside therein. May all who enter, whether they be local or tourist, believer or not, realise that they are ‘heirs of a past that is greater than ourselves, and that can disappear every day. We are also the protagonists of an era that we have a duty to pass on. …To pass on, and to hope’ as we journey through Advent to Christmas.
[1] https://www.rcf.fr/articles/actualite/le-discours-demmanuel-macron-a-loccasion-de-la-reouverture-de-notre-dame-de
[2] https://melbournecatholic.org/news/notre-dame-re-openning
[3] https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/messages/pont-messages/2024/documents/20241121-messaggio-riapertura-notredame-parigi.html
Fr Frank Brennan SJ is serving as part of a Jesuit team of priests working within a new configuration of the Toowong, St Lucia and Indooroopilly parishes in the Archdiocese of Brisbane. Frank Brennan SJ is a former CEO of Catholic Social Services Australia (CSSA). Fr Frank’s latest book is An Indigenous Voice to Parliament: Considering a Constitutional Bridge, Garratt Publishing, 2023 and his new book is ‘Lessons from Our Failure to Build a Constitutional Bridge in the 2023 Referendum’ (Connor Court, 2024).
